As one of the biggest job fairs was held in northeast China, women looking for employment raised concern over the recently mandated two-child policy. Over 40,000 jobs from more than 750 companies like Shougang and Toyota, were offered at the fair.

One of the 30,000 hopeful jobseekers competing for a position was Wang Qing. She is a graduate from the Jilin University of northeast China.

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Wang, to her dismay, pinned her inability to get a job at the fair to the recently mandated two-child policy. In an interview, she claimed that, "One interviewer told me that I am qualified but declined for the job, but with women soon to be able to have a second child, they will face more work-life balance problems. Employers just don't want to hire women."

Furthermore, IT and technical establishments, where employees are often required to make frequent business trips and put in extra hours of work, most likely refused women. Some female jobseekers raged over the rationale at the fair. One jobseeker apparently asked in anger, "Exactly what positions can girls fit?"

Liu Xinxin from the Economic Institute of Jilin University said, "As a female postgraduate, I am embarrassed by the fair. I was frequently knocked back by companies saying no girls were not wanted or that boys were preferred without even giving girls an interview."

In a conference, National Health and Family Planning Commission spokesperson Wang Pei'an admitted that following the new two-child policy, women were most likely to suffer from seeking employment and workplace prejudice.

Head of Jilin University's Employment Service Center Zhong Xin revealed that compared with their male counterparts, female job hunters get a job after an average 8.4 interviews, which is 2.1 higher than for men. However, Xin noted that although men get jobs faster than women, the latter's academic performance is always almost better than the former, thus resulting in the existing trend of higher employment rate among girls.

Nonetheless, when employers consider the maternity and lactation leave during recruitment and time to care for the family, female job candidates are often left at a disadvantage.

Tagstwo-child policy, National Health and Family Planning Commission, female job hunter, Jilin University, China job fair, female college graduate, women's rights, Chinese Female Jobseekers Prejudice